Another thinker
associated with human relations movement is Follett. She studied political
science and economics at Harvard and Cambridge. She was a social worker
associated with educational, recreational and vocational guidance centers. She
found that managers were also facing same problems as faced by public
administrators.
Follett
interpreted classical management principles in terms of human factor. She wrote
several papers which were collected in ‘Dynamic Administration’ edited by
Metcalf and Urwick. Follett favored participation of the workers in the
decision making process by establishing clear cut channels of communication.
She argued that authority and order in an organization should be
de-personalized. Facts of a situation determine the basis of authority and
responsibility. She favored professionalization of management. Follett
advocated that integration not domination should be followed for removing
conflicts among parties.
Follett’s main
concern was the efficient use of people. She used the tool of psychology to
answer various questions. Even though her approach was different than those of
other thinkers on human relations but she has a reputation as a pioneer of
human relations approach.
She was the person
who introduced the concepts of social Work Political Science. She identified:
- Working in groups is more important than working individually in any organization.
- That “power with” should be the principle of management-employee relation in the organization rather than “Power over”.
- Use of integration to resolve conflicts like providing a solution that offers mutual benefit to both of the parties involved in conflict.
- Integrative unity is the secret of success in an organization where different departments are present and working to achieve the same goal.
